1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treadmill, and more particularly to a treadmill having a folding mechanism for allowing the treadmill to be easily folded to a compact configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical treadmills comprise a treadmill body having a handle extended upward from the front portion thereof for supporting the upper portion of the users. Some of the treadmills include a foldable handle that may be folded downward to the treadmill body for storing purposes. However, the treadmill body still occupies a huge volume in the housing buildings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,140 to Watterson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,682 to Hung disclose two examples of the treadmills which include a treadmill body that may be folded upward to an upright structure for further decreasing the bottom area thereof. In both of the examples, the treadmill bodies of the typical treadmills have one end pivotally coupled to a fixed base that may not be moved and have the other end that should be elevated about the other end. However, the treadmill bodies include a large weight and may not be easily rotated upward to the upright position, such that an additional cylinder is required for supporting or for elevating the treadmill bodies during the upward folding operation of the treadmill bodies.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional treadmills.